Cherry Blossom
by 123Rainstar123
Summary: The bushi tentatively dared to call this blossom snow beautiful, picturesque...comforting. But, as each petal touched the ground, it reminded him of how brief that beauty truly was. Thriving lavishly for a transient moment, until it withered and died on the cold, unforgiving ground. Buried, forgotten.


Kurusu's brow furrowed as dainty, pink petals fluttered down to the lush, green earth. The sakura trees were in full bloom - and soon, their pale foliage would fully blanket the emerald grass like fresh snow. The bushi tentatively dared to call this blossom snow beautiful, picturesque...comforting. But, as each petal touched the ground, it reminded him of how brief that beauty truly was. Thriving lavishly for a transient moment, until it withered and died on the cold, unforgiving ground. Buried, forgotten.

There was a faint squeal of wooden boards, and the samurai's steely gaze narrowed. Instinctively, Kurusu's hand gripped his katana - a faint sound of a metal blade slipping from its sheath -

"Kurusu?"

His breath hitched in his throat at the clear, feminine lilt; however, the softspoken sound allowed his blade to slide obediently back into place. He released a gentle puff of hair to regain his faltering composure.

"Ayame-sama," he said cooly.

Her purple eyes twinkled like a starry sky as she looked at him, her head tilting innocently. "Kurusu, what are you doing out here?" The man's lips pulled down into a faint scowl to stop the heat from rising to his cheeks. He was just waiting for her to return, that was all. He certainly _wasn't_ dreamily staring at some _overgrown plant_. "Oh! The sakura?" the lady chirped, and Ayame hurriedly sauntered to his side to gaze at the view. "Aren't they lovely, Kusuru?"

The samurai nodded lightly.

Ayame smiled. "It's part of the reason why I find early spring so pretty - the sakura in bloom - and then when they fall...ah~!" The girl released a giddy sigh. "It makes the whole world pink!"

Kurusu blinked, staring at her strangely. The young princess inhaled sharply, covering her mouth with her pallid fingers. "O-Oh...how childish of me…" She bit her lip, and her own cheeks turned as pink as the blossoms. "Forgive me, Kurusu - I shouldn't be acting as such."

"It's alright, Ayame-sama," he assured her.

At his assurance, Ayame smiled, her eyelids lowering slightly and her eyes crinkling. Kurusu tightened his mouth into a hard line and glanced away. "You're always so encouraging, Kurusu," she mused, trailing her hands over the wooden railing. "I don't understand how you manage to put up with me sometimes."

"It is my duty to serve you whether or not I find it wearisome, Ayame-sama."

"And always so blunt, too," the woman chuckled, shaking her head.

The breeze whistled through the surrounding trees, rustling the blossoms and disrupting them from their perch; another flurry of pink cascaded to the ground.

"Ah…!" Ayame leaned further over the railing, entranced by the flowery storm. "Beautiful!"

While her attention was focused on the sakura, Kurusu granted himself a moment to observe the young monarch thoughtfully. Her hair danced in the teasing wind, each strand of dark amethyst shimmering radiantly in the midday sun, and they carried a fragrance that was uniquely her - achingly sweet to his senses. Her robes were pinker than the cherry blossoms she admired, crafted from silks finer than gold itself. And her eyes…

She had called the sakura beautiful, but truthfully, Kurusu disagreed. There was something - _someone_ \- far more beautiful than the cherry blossoms raining down.

Beauty was fleeting in this world - the Kabane were a grim reminder of that fact. With their hellish red eyes, bloody teeth, and skin glowing with iron veins, they tarnished the once-great nation, devouring everything like a ruthless virus. Tranquil countrysides once littered with dandelions and violets now festered with monsters. Rich cities teeming with people now stank with the rotting corpses of the bitten.

Anything beautiful was eventually destroyed.

But, not this time. He wouldn't allow it. Not while he was still breathing.

A lone petal drifted down and rested neatly on Ayame's head; without thinking, Kurusu reached for it. The princess gasped in astonishment at the fingertips pressing into her hair, and she turned to look wide-eyed at the culprit. The petal was tightly clasped in between Kurusu's forefinger and thumb. He blinked again.

And then he realized what he had done.

_Oh._

_Oh, no._

"A - Ayame-sama, I didn't - " stammered the bushi.

Ayame blinked as well. "...Kurusu, you're blushing."

Kurusu froze. She was right. _Terribly right._

The samurai groaned slightly under his breath and released the cherry blossom, grinding his teeth in unabashed shame. _How could he, __**why **__did he -_

Ayame started laughing, amused by his baffled look. "Oh_, Kurusu,_ it's alright - "

Kurusu hated that _overgrown plant._

**.x.**

**Sooo, my friend and I just binged all of "Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress" all last week. I have another fixation now, oho boy. And the internet has done me a great disservice by not providing me quality Kurusu x Ayame content? ****_There isn't enough_****_and it's disgraceful_****, ****_I need tHEM SO BADLY I HAVE ONLY FOUND 4 FANFICS FOR THEM IN TOTAL ON HERE, ARCHIVE, AND WATTPAD, I CAN'T READ JAPANESE WELL YET SO PIXIV IS USELESS -_**

**_Ahem_****, anyway. It feels weird writing fanfiction again. I haven't done so in a long while. I really want to write more about these two because they are really, really cute! Kurusu is a blushy boy, therefore, I automatically love him. Ayame is ****_wife_****. **

**Regardless, as I said, I only finished the anime once ****_recently_****, so the characters aren't probably perfectly written yet. I wish I had more time to draw them, buuuuut, I don't. I'm surprised I even finished this. **

**Hope you enjoyed. ****_Please tell me I'm not the only one who loves them, please, please, please, PLEASE - _**


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